It is fascinating (and terribly disheartening) for me to "view" this U.S. Presidential election from afar.
The comments I see are SO divisive.
Often, I wonder how some people are actually watching, reading, and listening to the same people because the responses are SO different sometimes. Examples of comments seen on my facebook feed in the last two days alone...everything from.....
- "I love this guy" (showing a picture of Bill Clinton speaking) to "This speech is a fucking joke!!!!!!!" (in reference to Bill Clinton's speech)
- A friend who wants to be BFF with Michelle Obama to a friend who calls her "the wife of the enemy within"
- A friend who claimed that on her friends' list, 56 people had "liked" Donald Trump's page and 5 people had liked Hilary Clinton's page, therefore it would be voter fraud if she won.
- From one friend saying "yes, I believe he has what it takes to make America great again" (referring to Donald Trump) to another stating "he makes me want to vomit every time he speaks."
The positivity and support for a candidate...I'm fine with that. No problem whatsoever. I may not agree with you, but support and promote all you want.
It's the hateful negativity that gets me....
Have an opinion. Please do. Have thoughtful and thought-provoking conversations. But, crossing the line into such hateful rhetoric has me shaking my head.
The disrespect shown towards people that are supposed to lead one of the greatest nations on Earth is so sad.
Words I've seen used today on my social media feeds in regards to one and/or both candidate(s): "racist", "thief", "liar", "crook", "bigot", "criminal", "hypocrite", "asswipe", "separatist", "Killory", "corrupt"...just to name a few.
I am not without guilt. Just a couple of months ago, I went on a rant right here on this blog about my dislike of Trump (before I actually believed that his candidacy was going to be taken seriously.) Many f-bombs were dropped.
I know that elections get heated. I know they are hard fought journeys to the end. I know there is mud-slinging and name-calling that happens.
But, doesn't this one seem uglier than previous years?
And, it's only July.........
I feel so conflicted. I love my home country of America. Love love love it. But, when you love someone (or something) that means that you love them no matter the good, the bad, and the ugly. But, you don't have to accept the bad and the ugly. You can want and expect better. I am saddened by the commentary that I've seen. I am disheartened that these are the candidates for President. I want better for my loved ones in the country that I love.
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| From the last time I celebrated the 4th of July in the USA |
I was going to disable comments for this post. But, no. We should be able to have respectful, intelligent discussions about this wonderful (that is not sarcasm) democratic process.
So, share your thoughts..........
It's so frustrating and as someone who is dissatisfied with BOTH candidates I feel torn because I want to vote my conscience but I know our political system is so corrupt that a 3rd party vote would never make a difference and is, (as is seems) a wasted vote. I do agree that this one is the most divisive presidential election I've ever seen and I honestly think it's because the American people hate both candidates. They both are horrible people inside and have either no policies or bad ones. The people are tired of being lied to, tired of broken promises and tired of fear-mongering. I'm just so torn and try to honestly avoid engaging in any sort of political conversation with people. Ugh.
ReplyDeletethis election makes me sad. i just can't believe it's gotten to this place. but i am happy to have a female candidate for the first time. says a lot about where we are, but then i look at DT and just wonder - have we really gotten that far at all? :(
ReplyDeletexoxo cheshire kat
I never post anything political. I don't run some sort of platform, I have reasons for believing what I believe, and I don't necessarily feel the need to convince others to believe the same.
ReplyDeleteSomething I've noticed with a lot of media sources (i.e. podcast hosts, personalities on t.v., etc), it seems like it's considered a terrible thing to be a Republican (even if the candidate is less than ideal...ftr, not a fan) or agree with Republican politics and that generally makes me really sad. Like, we need to be accepting of EVERYTHING, except people who believe in a certain set of government ideals (because that's not okay).
This election is terrifying. Honestly, I don't even say who I'm supporting on social media or the blog because I know I would get hateful comments. But also...I REALLY hate Donald Trump. Like, I don't really feel that he deserves respect as a 'possible future leader' because there's no way in hell he should have even gotten this far! He has no experience and uses fear and hate to get people to vote for him. But I also don't post stuff like that or try to argue with people, because there's way too much arguing. And I do have a Donald Trump supporter in my family and I don't hate him for it or anything. People are allowed to vote for him and I'm allowed to despise him (as a political candidate--if he was still just being a rich dude I wouldn't give him a thought).
ReplyDeleteHate only produces more hate, but I agree with Mattie as far as Tr*mp goes. I hate him as a leader and as a representative for our country and as a spokesperson. I really do believe that he spews hate and paranoia. It's disgusting. But I respect that American's can chose to vote for him- I just won't be. That said, the Democrats haven't given me much either (and I consider myself moderate republican- mostly, economically). Apparently there's a third guy that's gaining some steam? Gary Johnson, I think. Maybe I'll look more into him. I don't know. I'm glad a woman is in the race and I'm glad I have the right to vote- but this year is super disheartening.
ReplyDeleteI am so over this election and I have been for quite some time. I am actually sort of terrified for November to come because I honestly can't really vote for either candidate. They are both horrible options and any other vote other than Trump or Hilary is just a waste of a vote really. I can really appreciate that a woman is running for president but I am not going to vote for someone just because she is a woman. Just like I am not going to vote for someone in the party I associate myself with more just because it is their candidate. Ohhhh I am so torn!!!
ReplyDeleteBut what I cant stand, is that if someone says they are a Trump supporter then there are comments made that they are racist or whatever. Ummm have you met his wife???? How is he racist? Just because someone supports a person also doesn't mean that they believe in everything that person stands for.
This election is like no other with the two candidates - but add in the crazy of social media & how everyone feels so entitled to their voice being heard as the ONLY VOICE THERE IS & it's just making me want to run & hide. I'll come out for election day, vote - when I really dont want to vote for either one - but someone's son or daughter died so I could, so i'll vote - & then I'm going back into hiding again :)
ReplyDeleteI feel like we always forget how bad election season is until it's time for another Presidential election. I really want to go into hiding during this time of the year because everybody is so negative, but I kind of like seeing the chaos too. It's like that whole train wreck that you just can't help but watch! Hopefully once the election happens people will calm down again, at least for another three years.
ReplyDeleteI'm a democrat and big fan of Hillary, so I feel like in some ways I have the unpopular opinion of NOT being as disheartened about both the candidates/politics in America because #ImwithHer. Obviously, DT has had great success as a businessman, which I respect. Does being a good businessman make you a good public servant? Hell no, they're actually very different skills to go from being self-serving to selfless.
ReplyDeleteIs the world going to end when either of these candidates win? No. We've also got two other branches of government that will most likely be controlled by the opposite party (usually more of the opposing party candidates get elected in the two years following the presidential election, so if DT wins, I think you'll see Congress turn over), so people really do need to chill. I'd love to see more focus by both candidates on political issues. I'm done hearing about the emails and the hotel failure in AC.
Political rants are one of the reasons that I quit facebook and can never go back.
I was over this election a year ago, and it's just gotten so much worse. There's so much hatred going around, it frustrates me. Even within the parties, which is so stupid.
ReplyDeleteI admit I'm also in the "can't stand Donald Trump" category, but I think he's going to win and really it just disappoints me. I'm hoping my citizenship app goes through in time to register vote. My philosophy has always been that I can't complain if I didn't vote.
I still think we need to kidnap Trudeau.
I think a lot of the reason it's so ugly is the majority of people feel like they are damned if they do, damned if they don't. Both candidates suck, imo. I watched my first DNC Tuesday and I'll admit I got weepy. Not because of #imwithher because I'm not going to blindly support a candidate because of their gender. Don't get me wrong, it's an important moment in American history but if they don't align with what's important to me in a leader, I'm not going to support them. Anyways, my emotion was purely for Bernie. Throughout his campaign he's never disparaged or slandered Hillary. Even when the leak came that pretty much the election was rigged against him, he didn't show anger or really even mention it. To see the passion in the delegates voting for him, knowing that he wasn't going to get the votes. And then at the end to be so humble and selfless to concede with such grace, it's hard not to be sad for him but also what could have been.
ReplyDelete'The comments I see are SO divisive. '
ReplyDeleteat first i thought that said divine and i was super confused. haha.
but yeah.. i totally agree. i have only actually seen one election lol but this one is definitely uglier than the last! i could pretty much ignore the last one, this one is everywhere. all i see is negative though. so much hate. i don't get it. i can't vote, so i am very separated from it i think, but still.
Like you, I don't like Trump. (I think I probably made that clear when I responded to your previous post about him. Haha.) I have actual feelings of fear when I imagine what things might be like if he became President. Maybe I'm overreacting ... Maybe not. Honestly, I don't really want to find out.
ReplyDeleteThis election has by far been the weirdest and ugliest I've ever seen. I think I get most disheartened when I hear someone say they won't vote because they don't like their choices or that they're going to vote for a third party candidate. I mean, the third party thing is fine in theory, I guess ... But the likelihood that a third party candidate would win this election is probably pretty slim. So, to me, it seems like a wasted vote. Obviously people can do whatever they want, but I just feel so deflated when I hear things like that.
There is such an abundance of hatred and pig-headedness in this election among everyone. It honestly makes me want to just go move to a beach and become a recluse. I'm just over the corruption of the two parties, neither of which really represent me, and am ready for people to be sick enough to actually educate themselves on local levels. Maybe then we can slowly make a change, from the bottom up.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning a post related to what I'm about to say, but I feel like this is a safe place to share it too.
ReplyDeleteThe other night, I was driving Uber and had a passenger that is a foreign student from India, but who mostly grew up in Bahrain. We were talking about the election and he confessed that he had been hoping Bernie would get the Democratic nomination, but also talked a little bit about how he has to just hope the voters get it right, since he doesn't get to vote himself. I made the comment, "Donald Trump is the worst person ever." And this 20-something kid said, "You've never lived in a country that has an actual king."
It gave me some much needed perspective. I still have a lot of opinions about the election, but I'm realizing that things aren't as gloom and doom as everyone wants to say it is.